Best Bagless Upright Vacuum Cleaners

If you’re looking for a straightforward, great all-around upright bagless at an affordable price, Shark’s ever-popular Navigator series continues to impress and improve. The Shark Navigator Professional Lift-Away is an upright vacuum that carries a few of the hallmarks of a 2-in-1 vacuum. While there’s no way to convert this product into a dedicated handheld, the Lift-Away technology means you can ditch the brush roll and use the product like a small, handheld canister vacuum. In addition, a lengthy 12 ft hose (when fully extended) also means that cleaning above-ground is as simple and easy as possible with an upright.

Though the design is a bit cumbersome to maneuver, the Navigator Professional does its absolute best to combat this weakness as compare to its competitors. There is also a lack of motorized brush rolls or other features that would set this vacuum apart. At the same time, the brush roll does tend to clog. With a comprehensive 5-year warranty, however, there’s little to fear when it comes to breakdowns and other issues.

Complete with HEPA filtration, we can’t think of a better introductory upright vacuum for all types of floors. It may not be the lightest or most affordable, but this all-around design is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

Dyson vacuums have been quite the disruptive product in the vacuum industry, impressing many with their raw power but frustrating others with some questionable design choices. Falling in line with its predecessors, this Dyson product has lots to offer but also has its problematic aspects.

The Dyson Ball Animal 2 is the pet-friendly variant of the standard Dyson Ball. Little seems different about the classic design, save for the powerful and handy pet turbine tool. While we would have appreciated more of a change in the original design, the pet turbine tool is greatly effective for handling upholstery and similar surfaces. The long hose is also great to utilize with the turbine tool for stair cleaning, but the long hose can only stretch so far.

At over 17 pounds, the Animal 2 is going to be quite the slog to carry up and down multiple sets of stairs. Furthermore, while this model, like other Dyson vacuums, is aesthetically pleasing for the sake of ergonomics, it’s not uncommon for vacuuming to be a bit uncomfortable. The high asking price may cause some to question exactly why Dyson chose to skip ergonomic handles, a lighter design, a manually adjusting brush roll, or other features that would supplement the undeniable power of their products.

Still, it’s not all to say that Dyson’s completely skipped on features. The build quality of both the attachments as well as the main vacuum itself is nothing to scoff at—and with a 5-year warranty, you can be assured that the Dyson Ball Animal 2 will last long enough to cover it’s asking price. Provided you don’t mind the quirks of this popular brand; you can expect the Dyson Ball Animal 2 to prove its worth as a bagless vacuum that’s built to last.

Hoover seems to have built their reputation from bagged vacuum cleaners but has made quite the splash with their latest bagless upright for handy features and a great introductory price point. The Hoover WindTunnel 2 is a straightforward, no-frills bagless upright that falls in line with many other Hoover products.

Instead of going for one specific feature to attract a crowd, Hoover relies on smaller, ergonomic choices like the self-retracting cord and an extended cleaning tool to compel customers. Both of these make operating the Hoover WindTunnel as simple as possible. There’s a bit of a hitch where the attachments must be removed to use the hose, but aside from this, but aside from this, most choices seem to be ergonomic.

The shorter warranty and plastic nature of the attachments is also a bit of a point of contention, but when it comes to a product at this price point, the suction power and manually adjusting brush roll more than makeup for it.

Having greater control over cleaning carpeted and hardwood floors, as well as a pet turbo tool and extended cleaning wand, mean that the WindTunnel 2 can comfortably compete with products near twice its asking price. If you’re a big fan of Hoover bagged models or otherwise need something that’s going to reach your vaulted ceiling fans, the Hoover WindTunnel 2 may be worth considering.

Bissell seems to be one of those brands that have a hand in just about every category of vacuum. From their Big Clean to their impressive CrossWave multi-surface vacuum cleaner, there’s lots to pick from when it comes to a Bissell product. Their introductory and affordable CleanView is one such product. Designed with smaller homes in mind, the CleanView focuses on carpet cleaning and sanitary operation and features one of the easiest filters to clean yet.

While there’s no HEPA filtration to be found, knowing that any debris can be cleared out in minutes is important to many who tend to struggle with allergies. It is also not possible to turn the brush roll off. This may not be a problem for those with carpeted surfaces, but anyone with hardwood floors needs to be wary. High-spinning fibers on a brush roll can degrade hardwood surfaces over time. Likewise, despite the handy motorized TurboBrush tool, it can be difficult to recommend this product for pet hair. Many users of this specific Bissell product report having to clear out the brush roll whenever longer pet hairs are picked up, so if you have many dogs, perhaps consider a different bagless upright on our list.

For smaller carpeted homes, however, the simple-to-empty bin shows off just how easy it is to use a bagless upright, and with the extension wand, you won’t need to worry about getting into those hard-to-reach places.

Black & Decker makes a host of products within the vacuum sphere and beyond, and typically is known for a fair product at great price. Their basic bagless upright, the AirSwivel, is one of the most affordable vacuums that remains surprisingly simple to use.

The Black & Decker AirSwivel is our most affordable bagless upright pick by a considerable margin. At well under 10 lbs, the AirSwivel is also our lightest vacuum, which makes it a prime pick for smaller homes, apartments, or situations in which you’ll need to lift the vacuum up and down several flights of stairs. With a large bin capacity and washable filters, the benefits of a bagless vacuum are not missed with the AirSwivel. Likewise, their patented swivel steering sets this product apart from other similar budget vacuum cleaners.

Like the Bissell CleanView, there is no turning off the brush roll on the AirSwivel, which is important to keep in mind for hardwood-only living spaces. Otherwise, aside from the lack of attachments and plastic-y nature of the device, there’s a lot to be appreciative of with the Back & Decker AirSwivel.